Kale Van Campen joins Montana Western football

After wrapping up his senior season with the Havre High football team, Kale Van Campen has signed with the University of Montana, Western to continue his football career. While he was also recruited by the likes of Dickinson State and Montana Tech, Van Campen believed Western was the right place to play college linebacker.

"I thought it was the best fit for me academically and athletically. Me and the coaches got along great," Van Campen said. "When I went down for my few visits, I liked the atmosphere in the program they got going and I thought they would be a great fit."

For the Blue Ponies, Van Campen played both quarterback and linebacker this past season. He helped the Ponies go 6-3 in the regular season to qualify for the postseason after missing it the previous year. At linebacker, he led a defense that allowed only 6.5 points a game in the second half of the season.

"He's a great coachable kid and he's a heck of an athlete," HHS head football coach Jake Eldridge said. "I think he's got a lot of versatility and he's a competitor and he really works hard. I think he brings a lot to the table and Western's got a good one."

At Western, Van Campen plans on studying sports science and physical therapy. But for now, Van Campen looks forward to helping the Bulldogs continue to be a competitive ball club in the Frontier Conference The Montana Western Bulldogs are coming off a solid season where they went 6-4 in conference competition and they went 7-4 overall. As he joins the program, Van Campen hopes to help the Bulldogs take that next step as a program.

"I look forward to getting to know the game that I love more," Van Campen said. "I look forward to playing for another four, five or six more years and hopefully compete for a national championship."

As he prepares for the next step in his football career, Van Campen will not forget his time in pads for the Ponies. Van Campen learned plenty of important lessons over the years that he hopes will help him over the coming seasons with the Bulldogs.

"I learned a lot from my coaches and my teammates. How to work hard, how to learn fast on the fly and how to be a leader," Van Campen said. "My coaches were a big part in this and my family, I learned a lot from them along the way."